Healthcare workplace violence represents a critical occupational hazard that extends far beyond individual incidents, potentially undermining care quality and accelerating the global nursing shortage. Understanding regional patterns becomes essential as healthcare systems worldwide grapple with staff retention and patient safety.
This Egyptian study of 424 nurses reveals a complex violence landscape where verbal abuse (mean score 3.50) and bullying (3.00) predominate over physical violence (2.80) and sexual harassment (2.70). Organizational factors emerged as the primary driver (3.80), followed by environmental (3.60) and sociocultural elements (3.40). Despite experiencing moderate overall burnout (3.83) with high emotional exhaustion (4.20), nurses demonstrated resilience through problem-focused coping strategies (3.45) and perceived strong management support (3.80).
These findings illuminate a paradox common across healthcare systems: violence persists even where institutional support exists, suggesting that organizational goodwill alone cannot address deeper structural and cultural triggers. The predominance of verbal over physical violence aligns with global patterns, yet the specific ranking of organizational factors as primary drivers may reflect Egypt's hierarchical healthcare culture. The moderate burnout levels, while concerning, indicate these nurses haven't reached the severe exhaustion seen in some Western studies. However, the gap between management support and safety communication effectiveness points to implementation challenges that likely transcend cultural boundaries. This research contributes valuable non-Western perspectives to violence prevention strategies, though its cross-sectional design limits causal interpretations and generalizability beyond similar healthcare contexts.